The things accountants
actually ask.

Will my client know I'm using FirmBooks?

No. Everything is returned under your firm's name with no FirmBooks branding. Your client relationship is entirely yours. We are your invisible back office.

What if the work comes back with errors?

We redo it free, immediately. Every job is quality-checked by a senior accountant before delivery — but if something isn't right, we fix it at no charge without delay.

How do I send client data securely?

We provide an encrypted secure portal for file transfer. Before your first job we send a signed GDPR data processing agreement. No sensitive data is ever sent by standard email.

Are your staff qualified to UK standards?

Yes. Every accountant is UK-trained, ACCA-familiar, background checked, and works to UK accounting practice standards — UK VAT rules, Companies House requirements, and HMRC filing standards. The operation is UK-based, not offshore.

What exactly do you handle?

VAT returns, monthly bookkeeping, and year-end accounts for sole traders and small limited companies. We do not currently offer payroll, personal tax returns, or audit work.

Is there a minimum volume or contract?

No. Send one job a year or fifty a month — entirely up to you. No contract, no retainer, no notice period. You pay per job at the price agreed upfront.

How is the price agreed before you start?

Use our pricing calculator for an instant price. For anything complex or high-volume, we quote in writing before we begin — you approve it first, always.

What format do you return the work in?

A reviewed PDF with supporting workings, ready for you to deliver directly to your client or file with HMRC. Need a specific format? Just ask.

What is white-label accounting?

White-label accounting is when a specialist firm completes the work — VAT returns, bookkeeping, year-end accounts — and returns it under your firm's branding. Your client never sees the provider. FirmBooks is built specifically for UK practices that want overflow capacity without hiring.

How does FirmBooks compare to hiring an in-house bookkeeper?

A junior in-house bookkeeper in the UK costs roughly £28,000–£35,000 fully loaded once you include employer NI, pension, software seats, holiday and management time. FirmBooks is pay-per-job with no fixed overhead. For firms under ~40 hours of overflow per month, outsourcing is typically 40–70% cheaper than hiring.

Is FirmBooks suitable for small accounting practices?

Yes — small firms and sole practitioners are the core customer. There is no minimum volume, so you can send a single VAT return or a full month of bookkeeping. The first job is free.

How fast can you turn around a VAT return?

Standard turnaround is 48 hours from receipt of complete records. Job confirmation is sent within 2 hours so you know it's in the queue.

Do you handle MTD for VAT submissions?

Yes. We prepare and file MTD-compliant VAT returns through HMRC-recognised software and return the workings to you. The submission can go from us under your firm's agent credentials, or we can hand it back for you to file.

Are you compliant with UK GDPR?

Yes. We operate as a data processor under UK GDPR. A signed Data Processing Agreement is sent before any client data is exchanged. Files transfer through an encrypted portal, never standard email, and we do not share data with any third party.

What software do you work with?

Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage and spreadsheet-based records. If your client uses something else, tell us and we'll confirm before quoting.

Can I white-label the deliverable with my firm's letterhead?

Yes — that's the default. Deliverables come back clean and unbranded so you can apply your firm's letterhead and send directly to the client. We have zero visible footprint.

Where is FirmBooks based?

FirmBooks is a 100% UK-based operation. The team is UK-trained and the work is performed and quality-controlled in the United Kingdom — not offshore. We are trained specifically on UK accounting standards: UK VAT rules, Companies House requirements and HMRC filing — rather than generic global bookkeeping.

Is the work done offshore?

No. All FirmBooks accounting work is performed in the UK by UK-trained accountants, to UK accounting practice standards. We are not an offshore provider — that is a deliberate choice so your clients' data and work stay onshore.

How is FirmBooks different from Advancetrack, TOA Global or QXAS?

FirmBooks is built for smaller UK practices that want pay-per-job overflow capacity rather than dedicated FTE outsourcing. There is no contract, no minimum volume and no monthly retainer — you send work when you have it. The trade-off is we do not offer dedicated named staff like the larger providers do.

Do you offer a money-back guarantee?

Yes. Your first two jobs carry a full money-back guarantee. After that, every job carries a free-redo guarantee — if something isn't right we fix it at no charge.

How does the 10% Palmera pledge work?

We donate 10% of FirmBooks profits each quarter to Palmera, a UK-registered charity creating long-term opportunity for plantation communities in Sri Lanka. The donation is built into our pricing — every job you send funds it automatically.

Is FirmBooks an offshore accounting service?

No. FirmBooks is the UK-based, onshore alternative to offshore accounting outsourcing. All accounting work is performed in the UK by UK-trained accountants, to UK accounting practice standards. There is no UK GDPR data transfer outside the UK and no offshore time-zone lag.

What's the difference between FirmBooks and offshore accounting providers?

Offshore providers (Advancetrack, TOA Global, QXAS, Initor Global and similar) perform the work outside the UK and typically sell a dedicated FTE retainer. FirmBooks is a 100% UK-based operation, pay-per-job with no minimum volume or contract, UK-trained reviewers on every job, and no UK GDPR international transfer paperwork. For overflow-style usage under ~40 hours/month, UK onshore is also usually cheaper all-in once review time is factored in.

How can you charge UK prices that low — is it really UK-based?

Yes, it really is UK-based. The reason the price works is bespoke software we built in-house that removes most of the manual hours from each job. We pay UK wages to UK-trained accountants — we just need far fewer of those hours per job than a traditional workflow. Every job still gets full senior review by a UK-trained accountant before it's returned to you.

How does FirmBooks help with staff churn and recruitment?

Junior bookkeepers leave, training takes months, and recruitment fees bite every time you replace someone. FirmBooks is on-tap UK-trained capacity you turn on and off per job — no hire, no leaver, no gap to plug, and no recruiter invoice.

Will using FirmBooks free up my time as the practice owner?

Yes — that's the main reason firms use us. You stop chasing juniors, reviewing timesheets, running 1:1s and covering holiday or sickness. We manage the people; you just send the work and review the deliverable before it goes to your client.

Can FirmBooks help me move into higher-value advisory work?

Yes. Hand over the data entry, reconciliations and routine VAT prep, and use the freed-up hours for advisory, tax planning and client meetings — the work that actually grows your fees. We do the back office so you can do the work that pays.

Can FirmBooks help me move into semi-retirement?

Yes — several of our customers use us exactly for this. If you don't want to fully retire, FirmBooks can run the back office while you stay client-facing on the days you choose: meetings, advisory and relationships. You keep the practice and the income without the production hours.